Barefoot Chronicles

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

• Training is going well thus far. I have been able tolerate a ten mile run at ultra-distance pace (i.e.- slow) on asphalt without incident, along with several shorter trail runs. Based on the progression of my workouts at the Grand Rapids YMCA, I may be able to run the Seaway 15k at a faster pace than planned. I may take a trip to Muskegon to run the course to see what kind of pace I can maintain for the entire 15k. I doubt I will be able to surpass last year's PR, but I will be VERY tempted to try!
• Also, I will begin my really long runs to prep for the 100 miler. I will be trying a different strategy this year. Instead of running a single long run every week or two, I will run as much as possible during a 24-36 hour period to mimic the strain of running while fatigued during different parts of the day. Here's a sample that I hope to do starting tomorrow:
• Thursday, 2am: run 10 miles
• Thursday, 1pm: run 5 miles
• Thursday, 8pm: run 10 miles
• Friday, 2am: run 5 miles

Pace will be approximately 12 minute miles using a run/walk ratio of 10 min./2 min. This strategy should allow me to acclimate to high mileage with less chance of injury, while also training for the psychological stressors of the 100. I will start at a total of 30 miles for the four runs, and progress to around 70 miles as the race nears.